Down The Rabbit Hole Part 2

Well if I'm honest, I was expecting a little bit more for my £15 (this defo wasn't as good as the Faust performance) but I had fun and it was a nice change from going to a club/bar/pub on a Friday night.

The warehouse was made into a sort of Alice in Wonderland maze, with different rooms for the different stages in the story with weird things hanging from the ceiling, light projections and a very confusing mirror room. There were only two rooms where the audience got to really interact though - the crackhead caterpillar riddle room & the tea party room where a band called Micachu (might sound like some sort of Pokemon but don't let the name fool you - I predict big things for them in the near future) were playing. I was on fire in the riddle room (got almost all of them right), so much so the caterpillar decided to cool me down with some "iceberg" (tap) water. I didn't like the sound of that too much, he got all angry and shouty, I made a swift exit...

Down The Rabbit Hole

Ok I will attempt to write a post with my injured laptop because I am uber excited about this! Tomorrow I'll be attending an Alice in Wonderland themed performance called "Down The Rabbit Hole" by a company called "Lets Paint The Town Red".

This is no ordinary performance though - you get to explore the massive Victorian warehouse that hasn't been used for a performance since 2003 and listen to new bands play at the "Mad Hatters Tea Party" with a dining table hanging from the ceiling (don't think the actual bands will be doing the same though). This reminds of a Faust performance I went to see a few years ago in a warehouse in East London by a company called PunchDrunk. The audience had to wear masks (sweaty fringe alert!) and follow the actors around different rooms and stages in the play and at the end there was a sort of barn dance party to celebrate, get pissed and get a-talking to the actors.

Anyways weird theatrics aside, I am really tempted to dress up as Alice tomorrow and put my own little twist on it. This thought led me to remember the amazing photo shoot in Vogue in 2003 shot by Annie Leibovitz (and also reminded me about the "Toxic Teaparty" photo shoot I've been meaning to do for about a year now), where "Alice" (Natalia Vodianova) is featured with a different designer wearing their creations. You can see all the photos here but these are my top 3 favourites.

Sorry Sorry

My Mac went AWOL on me a few days ago and won't let me open more than one window at a time - the dock has completely disappeared! This means I can't write any posts that require some sort of research and don't want to take it to the scary big Apple store on Regents St as they will take my beloved laptop away from me for about a week.

But I won't let this post to go to waste - I've got some UK news. Between 22nd September - 19th October Marc Jacobs has transformed the traditional cabbies in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh into cute little daisy chains, adorning them with flowers to celebrate the first anniversary of his Daisy perfume. Inside tip seats will be decorated in daisy fields and smell of Daisy eau de parfum, aswell as lollipops given to each passenger awww! Now I just have to find an excuse to use a cab instead of my travelcard in that time period.

What the...?

Ok can I just say one thing before I start my LFW writeup - WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH SOLANGE KNOWLES?! Is her stylist on crack? Is she blind? I mean a name like "Solange" isn't very attractive in the first place (sounds like a disease you get down bellow actually - solange could be the new thrush) but you don't have to make yourself double yuck by wearing equally unattractive outfits such as these. I really hope this is a publicity stunt gone wrong and that I'll be seeing her in something less offensive to the eyes next week.

Kokon to Zai

Looks like The Convenience Store has some competition. Kokon to Zai will be opening another store on Golborne Road, just off Portobello. I'll be checking it out on Tuesday during LFW at their "Champagne Bruncheon" - lovely!




The Greek Street store stocks designers such as Cassette Playa, Jeremy Scott, Material Boy, Noki and Raf Simons as well as their own brand KTZ. This is what West London has been missing - why didn't they think of this sooner?

Invites

It's always nicer to get invites posted to you rather than emailed me thinks and I've got a little collection building up for London Fashion Week. It felt a little bit like Christmas opening all my pressies (invites) this morning (well more like lunch time - the postman has been slacking off)!


And it's always nice to see designers make a bit of an effort with their invites. The Roger Vivier and Qasimi ones are so think, you could prob knock someone out with them! My favourite so far is the Horace one - simple but eye catching.


The SADO one has a bit of a Klimt look about it and Hemyca reminds me of my lecture "notes".


The Afshin Feiz one is a bit like marmite - I can't decide if I love or hate it! It's uber cute but I think I'm leaning towards the latter....

Stylista

It seems people just can't get enough of Devil Wears Prada-esque bitchy fashion shows. Stylista is no exception. Eleven fashion wannabes will fight it out for the position of Junior Editor for US Elle. But first they have to work as fashion assistants (slaves) for Elle's Fashion News Editor, Anne Slowey (who's kinda like a cross between Anna Wintour and that blonde bird from "10 Years Younger"). The prize is a paid editorial position at Elle (paid - not talking work experience here. PAID!), a paid lease on a flat in Manhattan (yes please!) and a clothing allowance at H&M (errr, no thanks) for one year! Stylista premiers on 22nd October - I'll be watching it online like I do all my Gossip Girl episodes. Here's a sneaky peak. I admit - I'm hooked already.

The Convenience Store

I don't think convenience stores get any more convenient than this - 10 minutes down the road from me and selling my kinda clothes! Yes I'm very lucky to be so close to Portobello but now that it has its own site, its just not the same. So couldn't believe my luck when I read that The Convenience Store will opening practically next door to Rellik. This new little boutique has the likes of Ann-Sophie Back, Rick Owens and Hannah Marshall hanging off its ceiling and wait for it....moving walls! Also spotted those hairy shoes by Camilla Skovgaard. I had a little chat with the lovely owner Andrew Ibi and he said that he'll be staying "as long as he can pay the bills". Well I wish him all the best and do hope he stays because I think I've just found my new favourite local shop!





The Convenience Store, 1A Hazelwood Tower, Golborne Gardens, London W10 5DT

BWO: Bodies Without Organs

With a name like "Bodies Without Organs" (or BWO if you're a hard core fan) you would expect this trio to be some sort of death metal band but nooo they've got a song called "Lay Your Love on Me" - brilliant! The actual song is pure cheese on toast but I do have a little fashion crush on their outfits.

Westwood Tunes

No, not that nincompoop Tim Westood but Dame Vivienne Westwood (I'm pretty sure people that read this blog don't need the second link but my ex actually didn't know who she was and the one before that had never heard of the Sex Pistols. Seriously, where do I find them?!). Well she's decided to release a compilation album called "Catwalk Breakdown" with 16 of her fav tracks (will be suprised if a Sex Pistols song isn't on there) that reflect the style of her clothes and its about bloody time too!

"My clothes always tell a story. It may refer to the past, but it's always projected into this heroic future. And I choose the music accordingly," says the designer. "Sometimes the music can just be sexy, it can let you relax, look at the clothes, put people into a fantastic mood. Then it might just have to swing back and lift you up to the final triumph of the fashion show."

According to Vogue.co.uk the album will be released on September 15th "at an exclusive launch event in Selfridges Oxford Street store, and the retailer will turn its Wonder Room into an homage to all things Westwood to celebrate; archive pieces will be exhibited alongside current designs and one off show outfits, and there will be special "listening stations" where customers can listen to the album whilst watching Westwood's fashion shows, past and present". Sounds a bit spesh - please send me one of these "exclusive launch event" tickets my way!

One Elle Of A Cover

The new Elle is out and I just can't understand the Editor's choice of cover. Surely the specially designed cover by Matthew Williamson is much better than a half dressed Alexa Chung staring at you (I estimate about half of the male population disagree with me on that one but thats what Nuts magazine is for) ? The one by Luella isn't bad either but not liking the pale grey background, not really sure whats going on in the Giles one and Gareth Pugh's must have taken a whole 5 minutes, plus it makes your eyes go funny is you stare at it too long. At least he did stay true to his black & white/geometric theme but "NOW"? Maybe he was going for the "NO" Viktor & Rolf look?


Anyways covers aside, the inside is pretty decent. Love the "My London" bit on page 336 where celebrities such as Alexa Chung (of course), Henry Holland and Roksanda Ilincic tell us their favourite spots in London, what they love/hate about it and if you're a big enough fan they even tell you where their studios are, so you can try to "accidentally" bump into (stalk) them.

(Not So) Ugly Betty

Yes finally Ugly Betty returns to our screens on Chanel 4 this Friday and I couldn't help but notice how every episode, gradually Betty grew into her own style and these pics from the new series prove it me thinks!


Bright colours, clashing patterns - I actually like some of the pieces (just wouldn't wear them all at once). Bit of Kate Nash feel though - maybe they're sharing the same stylist?



But the scene that I'm really looking forward to is with Miss. Campbell. An ASBO Supermodel "acting" should be fun - Posh didn't do too badly last time actually.